Professional Documents
Culture Documents
MAKE MILLIONS
Three Rivers Press and the Tugboat design are registered trademarks
of Random House, Inc.
ISBN 978-0-307-58799-2
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
First Edition
The fact that you’re reading this book means that you
have already taken a major step in the right direc-
tion. We’re sure you realize that growing a business
takes dedication and commitment. But, the experi-
ence of creating a living, systemized business can be
so rewarding that it seems effortless. If you follow
the strategies in this book, your business and life can
begin to run smoothly and efficiently, allowing you to
make money and have fun, too!
Chapter 2
Ten Business Commandments
for the Twenty-First-Century Entrepreneur 32
Chapter 3
Get Ready:
The Making of an Entre preneur 44
Chapter 4
Hustle and Grow:
Creating Your Business Foundation 63
Chapter 5
Till Death Do Us Part:
Creating Partnerships Without Fists 87
Chapter 6
Playing the Game:
A New Spin on a Traditional Idea 102
Chapter 7
People Equity:
Building Staff and Client Loyalty 113
Chapter 8
Evolution of a Brand:
Standing Out in a Crowded Landscape 136
Chapter 9
Generation Text:
New Technolog y Meets a Traditional Business 162
Chapter 10
Death of the Salesman:
Optimizing Your Ability to Make the Sale 181
Chapter 11
Systemizing Your Business for the Long Haul:
Using a Franchise Model Even If You Don’t Franchise 198
Chapter 12
Simple Business, Smart Money:
Turning Ideas You’re Passionate About into Profit 214
Chapter 13
Keeping Your Edge:
Working Smarter and Playing Harder 233
Acknowledgments 251
Index 255
W
e were about to be thrown into a shark tank on national
television. Our knees were shaking, our palms were sweaty,
and our mouths were dry.
Of course, it wasn’t a literal shark tank (or we probably
wouldn’t be here to write about it). We were about to make our
debut on ABC’s Shark Tank, a show that features entrepreneurs
pitching their business concepts to a ruthless panel of multi-
millionaire investors—the “Sharks”—to present the concept for
College Foxes Packing Boxes, a sister company for our successful
business, College Hunks Hauling Junk. The Sharks would con-
sider investing in it.
But even if they weren’t literal sharks, that doesn’t mean fac-
ing them wasn’t daunting. After all, it was hard to believe we
were even there. Just three years earlier we’d been two buddies
fresh off four years of partying our way through college. We were
working in corporate jobs, with no business experience to speak
of. If you’d told our friends then that in three years we’d be on
national TV pitching a million-dollar business to high-level in-
vestors, they’d have laughed in your face.
“Nick and Omar! You guys are up in five!” a production assis-
tant yelled as a swarm of girls with clipboards and headsets sur-
rounded us, and we were whisked to the waiting room. We’d never
thought hauling trash out of a beat-up cargo van would lead us to
It’s not that we were born rich or had no use for the money; every
dollar we had was hard-earned, and our business was our liveli-
hood. We aren’t geniuses—just ask any of our teachers from col-
lege or high school—and we definitely don’t have high-powered
degrees. At the end of the day, we’re about as normal as it gets.
But we have a great business. Not just in terms of growth,
although we’ve done very well on that front. Not just because it’s
a business that reflects our values, which treats employees with
respect and deals with clients with integrity, although our busi-
ness does all of those things. No, the reason we could decline that
offer with such confidence was because running our business is
just way too much fun.
From the first moment we broke out of our cubicles three
years ago and set out to haul junk, even before we’d earned a
single dollar, we felt a sense of freedom, possibility, and control
over our own lives that we’d never had before. And it only got
better from there. As we expanded and built systems that allowed
our company to function more effectively, we discovered that we
could spend less and less time doing the everyday grunt work like
hauling trash, and more time doing the things we really enjoyed:
thinking up new ways to make our company more fun for our
employees and having fun with our team members and clients,
solving business challenges that truly stimulated us intellectually,
and, of course, enjoying our hard-earned rewards. Confucius said
that if you find a job you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.
Well, we took it one step further: We made the job we love, and
now it’s so much fun it seems effortless.
So why would we give up any of that to some investor, just
for a quick buck? We’re confident we’ll make the money anyway,
but even if we don’t, we’re living the lives we’ve always dreamed
of having—the lives of effortless entrepreneurs.
And the best part is that you can do what we did, no matter
who you are. We’re here to tell you how. We wrote this book so
you can see that it’s not only possible to start your own business;
it’s possible to do so in a way that will make your life easier, more
fun, and more rewarding than it’s ever been. If we could do it, you
can too!
Whether you’re still in school, recently graduated, disgusted
with years in the workforce, or retiring with the hope of mak-
ing a long-held dream come true, Effortless Entrepreneur gives you
tools for having the best shot to take control of your own destiny,
start a business, and then systematize it so you can spend your
days doing the work you want to do, not just work you have to do.
If you’ve ever considered striking out on your own to become a
business owner, this is the book for you.
F R O M A VA N T O A N E M P I R E
Nurturing Our Inner Entrepreneur
I
t’s hard to recall how our entrepreneurial spirit first began. We
met in tenth grade and quickly became best friends. At the time,
we didn’t realize we shared an entrepreneurial nature—formal
schooling stifled it, and taking an entrepreneurial approach to
our activities got us reprimanded. School taught us that fitting in
was safer, requiring us to stay in line, defining us by our classes
and grades, and weeding out any behavior considered disobedi-
ent. A perfect example was when a math teacher sent a scathing
letter to Omar’s soon-to-be-angry parents, which said:
Doesn’t that sound better? Our nature kept us from fully ad-
hering to school rules, which led us into quite a bit of trouble
with teachers and administrators. Many kids with our personali-
ties are prescribed medication. Always wanting to stand out from
the crowd, we did things to entertain and gain peer approval and
attention. Nick took school slightly more seriously than Omar,
but he bucked his share of rules too. He always strove to do the
least amount of work necessary to get good grades and to finish
everything quickly so he could enjoy himself.
That isn’t to say there are no benefits to schoolwork. Despite
BONDI NG AS PART NE RS
Our first taste of working together to lead others was when
our high school football team played our big rival on their turf
and won. Though teachers had warned us against rushing the
field, as seniors we felt entitled to our moment of glory, so Nick
spread the word that everyone should rush the field anyway to
celebrate. We hopped the fence, and the rest of our school fol-
lowed us. As we ran past the losing team, an angry player chased
Omar and dragged him down. Nick ran to help and wound up
getting kicked in the face by an opposing player’s football cleats.
So by celebrating, Nick wound up in the emergency room getting
stitches. Besides sustaining injury and embarrassment, he was
reprimanded for disobeying the rules.
That night we had taken a risk, breaking the rules to lead
others for a chance at fun and glory. Of course, that risk backfired
and quickly turned into a bad night. That can happen in business
too. There are no guarantees that a risk won’t backfire. But if
you want to break the mold and win glory, risks must be taken
and rules must be broken. Staying on a safe path with everyone
else leaves no room for change, and life can become boring and
meaningless. Even though that risk backfired, we’re not sorry we
took it. If we hadn’t run onto the field, we might not have bonded
as friends or seen our ability to inspire and lead a crowd. Even
risks that don’t pan out can be valuable learning experiences.
Developing a successful business is akin to getting out of
the stands and onto the playing field. Parents, teachers, and the
school system warn kids not to take risks. As you get older, fam-
ily and social pressures make you feel stuck in a job. Starting a
business can be risky. Staying safe and secure is hyped. If you take
a risk, there’s a chance you’ll get kicked in the head, as Nick was.
But you know what? Even getting kicked wasn’t the end of the
world—we both turned out fine, and went on to be successful.
You shouldn’t let fear of failure stop you from taking a risk to
follow your dreams. No matter what your age, it’s never too late
to get out of the stands and onto the playing field. Our expecta-
tions of running onto the field were significantly different from
the results. But tolerance for risk is what helps you become a suc-
cessful entrepreneur.
During our school years, adults couldn’t stop us from taking
actions that backfired, and some people even wondered if we’d
make it out of high school in one piece. But because we were will-
ing to take risks and weren’t afraid of failure, we were able to
begin a million-dollar business—College Hunks Hauling Junk—
when we were only twenty-two and were named the Youngest
Franchisors in America by the International Franchise Associa-
tion. We were also finalists for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur
of the Year award and were named two of Inc. magazine’s Top 30
Entrepreneurs in America Under 30 in 2008. Today the company
is quickly expanding into cities across the country; we continue
to take risks, as our company continues to grow. That’s why we
encourage you to get out of the stands and onto the playing field
to pursue your own business dream.
nothing wrong with that if it’s what you truly want. But if you’re
in school so you can get out of the system, study hard to educate
yourself about the outside world. We quickly realized that to get
what we really wanted out of life, we couldn’t follow a traditional
path.
C O L L E G E H U N K S H AU L I N G J U N K
J U N K R E M OVA L
AT T I C / B A S E M E N T / G A R A G E C L E A N - O U T S
M I S C . M OV I N G
radiator broke, and slammed into the side of the van, leaving a
gigantic dent. It was like something out of the Three Stooges. The
spectacle had people laughing and staring openmouthed at the
farce. The client was furious and we had to pay for repairs. Yet,
despite the ragtag operation and inconsistent initial performance,
our phones continued to ring, and money flowed in.
We noticed that customers placed a premium on having
friendly, clean-cut college students in their homes, so we began
changing our focus to exceeding the expectations and experience
of our clients. After two months, Omar had pocketed close to
$8,000 (which he spent after just one month back at school since
we had yet to discover the importance of saving and investing).
That summer we realized our friendship went beyond just party-
ing and having fun. We had the potential to work in partnership
to create a profitable business. Something began to creep up from
our subconscious to our consciousness. We’d had a real taste of
entrepreneurship, and it wouldn’t go away.
Omar was partying and spending his winnings. Omar once said
that we should have called this book Party Hard and Start a Million-
Dollar Business—it was a joke, but in fact that’s what Omar did.
We don’t want to imply that it’s not important to work at
school. It is. But you should also think hard about why you’re in
school, what you want to do when you get out, and what knowl-
edge and skills you’ll need to accomplish it. School is good for
learning broad generalist skills—the ability to communicate in
writing, speech, dress, and manners—that parents and teach-
ers emphasize are keys to success in business. If Nick hadn’t
received his level of education and real-world work experience,
he could never have brought those financial and organizational
tools and self-discipline into running his own business. If Omar
had not received institutional spankings from his professors and
deans, he’d never have paid attention to what they covered in his
classes about marketing, management, and sales. His school spon-
sored the entrepreneurship competition. Each of us took different
skills from our background and education, depending on what we
valued. But by working together our strengths and weaknesses
complement each other to get things done effectively.
J U M PING I NTO RE AL L I F E
When we graduated, we were still conditioned by our program-
ming: Get a good job and put your education to good use. So
our business plan got shelved. We believed in its credibility but
lacked the balls to try it. Now we were officially adults. We con-
cared only about the bottom line. Employees were irrelevant, ex-
cept to get a job done, and this was reflected in the managers’ atti-
tudes. They cared only about their paychecks, and watched people
steal without reporting it. Profits dwindled. A few years later the
company was taken over by another one. Even then Omar recog-
nized that without a culture, a business would fail.
Reality hit us: the government takes its share of your pay-
check first. We had to wise up and spend that lunch money before
it could be taken. Nick reflected on his potential if he stayed with
his company as an employee. With good performance, he could
get a 5 percent wage increase every six months. Staying on the
career track could earn a promotion to consultant in about two
years. Then he could go to graduate school for an advanced de-
gree, incur $100,000 in debt while earning no income, return to
make a nice six-figure salary, and pay off the debt. It sounded
good until he did the math. What does 5 percent mean? Five
percent of $50K is $2,500, or $208 per month. After taxes it’s
$135. What could he get with that? How much does it cost to go
on a date? He’d need more if he got married, had kids, and had to
hire a babysitter to go out. More importantly, he didn’t feel any
emotional satisfaction from this job.
Working in the corporate world seemed futile. We wondered,
Why do employers even bother to say what your salary is be-
fore taxes? It creates a false expectation. And it seemed odd that
a majority of people just accept the system and don’t recognize
there are strategies to combat the lunch bully. Most employees
look for deductions against their income, like getting a home
mortgage. Yet that’s really the biggest liability to incur. Sure, you
can write off interest payments, but when people get a raise or
interest rates drop, they buy a bigger house, thereby taking on
more debt. True advantages come to business owners, who can
expense all legitimate business operating costs before taxes.
The entrepreneurial spirit that drove us to deviate from the
norm in school was lit even more by dissatisfaction with the
thought of living the corporate life until retirement. It became
tougher and tougher to get excited about working in the nine-to-
five corporate world, and we hated the thought of being confined
in a six-by-six cubicle till we got promoted to an office and then
were confined to that. Having experienced a lifestyle full of fun
and freedom had spoiled us. Omar had made $10,000 for a busi-
ness plan he wrote in a week and $8,000 from two months of
junk hauling. Now we worked harder for less money and with less
freedom. There had to be more to life than working for a corpora-
tion until retirement.
We struggled to figure out what to do. Our free spirits began
to get crushed as hopelessness set in about finding a satisfy-
ing path that gave us freedom and inspired us to feel about life
the same way we had before “becoming adults.” We longed to
feel passionate about work. Then we remembered the summer
we hauled junk in a beat-up van before our senior year. We were
dirty, sweaty, sleep-deprived—and excited! That ignited us as we
sat in our cubicles. We had to take the plunge and do it full-time!
After three months, Omar threw in the towel. Nick also felt
the itch. Launching our business opened up a whole new world
of excitement and power. Blowing off good corporate jobs to haul
junk seemed absurd to everyone but us. But even before we be-
came truly successful, it was the best move we’d ever made. That’s
when we truly began to live instead of just passing time.
B E C O M I NG E NT RE PRE NE URS
Trying to hire help was tough at first. Many shied away from
this kind of work. One guy’s first day on the job was removing
furniture from a house where a murder had just occurred. We
were startled to find police tape around the door, but we went in,
since we we’d been hired to do the job. We worked until we no-
ticed blood splatters on the wall and couch. It was creepy! Neigh-
bors said someone had bludgeoned a guy with a baseball bat. Not
surprisingly, that employee’s first day was also his last. Crazy
things happen in business. You must work harder until your staff
is solid. You never know what lurks around the corner.
We shared responsibilities, including answering the HQ
phone. Nick’s dad strongly warned him against leaving his job
immediately, so he handled back-office functions from his day-job
cubicle while Omar was on the truck with the younger broth-
ers of friends. Nick did what he could at work and went into the
storage closet to answer junk-removal calls. The girl in the next
cubicle must have thought he was a drug dealer or having an af-
fair or engaging in some other shady activity, since he’d go there
whenever his cell phone rang.
It was even riskier when Omar answered the phone, since
he usually fielded calls from behind the wheel of the truck. De-
termined to do whatever was necessary, he answered calls and
wrote down appointments in the scheduling binder while driving
at high speed on the highway! It was funny when people got frus-
trated by his erratic driving and called the 800 number to report
it. “One of your drivers is weaving on the road and not driving
safely,” someone would say. “Thanks for letting us know. We want
safe drivers and will take care of it,” Omar would reply, trying not
heads turn was easy! Our brand stood out in the waste-management
community. There were many funny looks at the dump sites from
the staff and other trash-truck drivers as we rolled in with our
bright orange-and-green truck, a big college hunk smiling on
its side. One of the dump site chicks even took Omar’s number.
College Hunks Hauling Junk stood out in ways that made people
pay attention and motivated us to give people good things to say
about us.
M OVING F ORWARD
We had the benefit of being able to read good books. From there,
we put together our own effective strategies and systems. This
book is filled with lessons accumulated on the road to becoming
the youngest franchisors in America. Since we’ve been out of col-
lege only a few years, our take reflects entering the world of busi-
ness after growing up with the new technology most businesses